Jacob’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

49 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, so that I may tell you what will happen to you ^(A)in the ^[a]days to come.

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them ^[aa]when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one ^[ab]with the blessing appropriate to him.

Jacob Dies

²⁹ Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be ^(AH)gathered to my people; ^(AI)bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in ^(AJ)the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the ^(AK)cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a ^[ac]burial site. ³¹ There they buried ^(AL)Abraham and his wife ^(AM)Sarah, there they buried ^(AN)Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— ³² the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” ³³ When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and ^(AO)breathed his last, and was ^(AP)gathered to his people.

Jacob Is Buried

50 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him. ² Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians ^(AQ)embalmed Israel. ³ Now forty days were ^[ad]required for ^[ae]it, for ^[af]such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians ^(AR)wept for him seventy days.

⁴ When the days of ^[ag]mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak ^[ah]to Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘^(AS)My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave ^(AT)which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now then, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’” ⁶ Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. ⁹ Chariots with teams of horses also went up with him; and it was a very great company. ¹⁰ When they came to the ^[ai]threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they ^(AU)mourned there with a very great and ^[aj]sorrowful lamentation; and he ^[ak]observed seven days of mourning for his father. ¹¹ Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at ^[al]the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a ^[am]grievous ^[an]mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named ^[ao]Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

Burial at Machpelah

¹² And so his sons did for him as he had commanded them; ¹³ for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in ^(AV)the cave of the field of Machpelah opposite Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a ^[ap]burial site from Ephron the Hittite. ¹⁴ And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers had seen that their father was dead, they said, “^(AW)What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!” ¹⁶ So they sent instructions to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded us before he died, saying, ¹⁷ ‘This is what you shall say to Joseph: “Please forgive, I beg you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ And now, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ Then his brothers also came and ^(AX)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? ²⁰ As for you, ^(AY)you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about ^[aq]this present result, to keep many people alive. ²¹ So therefore, do not be afraid; ^(AZ)I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke ^[ar]kindly to them.

Death of Joseph

²² Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were ^(BA)born on Joseph’s knees. ²⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “^(BB)I am about to die, but God will assuredly ^[as]take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He ^[at]promised on oath to ^(BC)Abraham, to ^(BD)Isaac, and to ^(BE)Jacob.” ²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will assuredly ^[au]take care of you, and ^(BF)you shall carry my bones up from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of 110 years; and they ^(BG)embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.

The Works and the Word of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

Concerning Divorce

19 ^(A)When Jesus had finished these words, He left Galilee and ^(B)came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; ² and ^[a]large crowds followed Him, and ^(C)He healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to ^[b]Jesus, testing Him and ^[c]asking, “^(D)Is it lawful for a man to ^[d]divorce his wife for any reason at all?” ⁴ And He answered and said, “Have you not read ^(E)that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘^(F)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(G)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.” ⁷ They *said to Him, “^(H)Why, then, did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” ⁸ He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to ^[e]divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. ⁹ And I say to you, ^(I)whoever ^[f]divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman ^[g]commits adultery^[h].”

¹⁰ The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹ But He said to them, “^(J)Not all men can accept this statement, but ^(K)only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13 (L)Then some children were brought to Him so that He would lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “^[i](M)Leave the children alone, and do not ^[j]forbid them to come to Me; for ^(N)the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

The Rich Young Ruler

^16 (O)And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain ^(P)eternal life?” ¹⁷ And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but ^(Q)if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “^(R)You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; ^19 (S)Honor your father and mother; and ^(T)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be ^[k]complete, go and ^(U)sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have ^(V)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

²³ And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, ^(W)it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ And again I say to you, ^(X)it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁶ And looking at them, Jesus said to them, “^(Y)With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The Disciples’ Reward

²⁷ Then Peter responded and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” ²⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the ^[l]regeneration when ^(Z)the Son of Man will sit on ^[m]His glorious throne, ^(AA)you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And ^(AB)everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ^[n]or children or farms on account of My name, will receive ^[o]many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. ^30 (AC)But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.